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Black Sun
Black Sun is a major crime syndicate with galactic reach and influence. History Black Sun has existed in some form or another for centuries. Although often headquartered on Coruscant, its influence stretches the breadth of the Galaxy. During the Galactic Civil War, Black Sun was led by Prince Xizor, a reptilian Falleen. Under Xizor's leadership, Black Sun became so powerful that the Prince was considered by some Coruscant courtiers to be surpassed in power by only Galactic Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. Rivalry between Vader and Xizor was especially strong due to the fact that, after an accident at a biological weapons laboratory on Xizor's homeworld Falleen, Vader ordered the area which had been contaminated to be "sterilized" without evacuating those Falleen who were in the sterilization zone. When Xizor learned that Luke Skywalker was Vader's son, he decided to kill Skywalker so as to foil Vader's plan to turn Luke to the dark side of the Force, making him appear incompetent in the eyes of the Emperor. However, when Vader learned of the scheme, he made sure Xizor paid with his life. Black Sun has yet to achieve its former glory since Xizor's death. Several attempts to bring the syndicate to that level have been made, as was the formation of an offshoot group called Black Nebula which attempted to recruit former Black Sun members into its ranks. It wasn't until 13 ABY that Black Sun began its true resurgence, under the guidance of Racra and Scaven Marx, who laid the groundwork for the rebirth of the organization. Scaven moved on to become an Imperial Grand Moff and Racra was eventually deposed by Indren auPhraxis, one of his Councilors and thought to be a puppet of Scaven's. Indren's own decadence eventually led to his deposition, again by one of Black Sun's Councilors, who tenaciously retained control through a deft combination of might and development of loyalty among those of lower rank. It wasn't very long before Scaven returned to overthrow the leadership with help of the original loyalties he set forth within the organization. Recent status More recently, Black Sun has seen an upsurge as the galactic troubles have increased, such an atmosphere being conductive to its sort of activities. Alliances have been re-forged or created anew. Leverages have been developed. The intelligence net has redeveloped and interconnected with others. Those who showed skill in the past have been emplaced where they can do the most good while new individuals have been sought for what they can bring to enrich Black Sun. Strong leaders have been located and arranged throughout the organization. Power has been steadily increasing, quietly and invisibly. But it grows quickly and encompasses many, promising to regain and perhaps even surpass its former influence and power. Structure The leader of Black Sun has in the past been an autocrat, answerable to none. Inspiring loyalty, often to the death, in underlings, Black Sun leaders must be intelligent, capable and ruthless. In the post-Xizor restructuring, certain changes have been made, however, aimed at creating a more loyal and unified leadership base. While retaining absolute authority in times of crisis and final say on rules and the execution of operations, the leader has implemented an organizational structure that allows ambitious members a chance to work their way up the leadership ladder. This does not mean the current leader won't order a member's death for transgressions, perhaps even doing the execution personally. It simply gives others their chance for authority without nipping at the heels of the ultimate leader and weakening the organization with infighting. :Below the leader is a Council of two members who together may pressure the leader to acquiesce should they hold a unified opinion opposing the leader's wishes. This is a relatively new development, one put into place by Indren and willingly retained by the current leader who hopes that giving say to subordinates will encourage them to speak up rather than simply revolt. All three, leader and Councilors, make up Black Sun's Ruling Council. :Beneath the Council are nine Vigos, each of whom is a territorial leader. The word Vigo means "nephew" in Old Tionese and is used to convey a sense of family. Vigos are mostly autonomous within their territories, which range in size from a single planet to several sectors. Vigos may select their own deputies and have up to three at a time. :The level below deputy is the lowest that is allowed to know they are members of Black Sun. They might report to a deputy or directly to a Vigo, being aware of that structure, but below their rank, the information is not available. Of the thousands of sentients working for the interests of Black Sun, most are unaware of the true nature of the power they serve. These report to their immediate superior, do their jobs, and are considered mostly expendable. Only through dedication and skill can one work up to a level of Knowing. Expatra Expatra is the designation of the paramilitary force of Black Sun. Made up primarily of ex-military or ex-mercenary individuals, it is a small force primarily used to protect the organization'sheadquarters. Occasionally, Expatra forces have been sent out for other duties, but as Black Sun attempts to keep its profile low and not engage in open combat this has only occurred when utterly necessary or as ordered by incautious leadership. During its reorganization under Scaven Marx, Black Sun Expatra was led by Danik Kreldin. More recently Expatra members have been used to infiltrate military forces and paramilitary organizations, making them operate more in line with the Black Sun mandate of information brokerage. A small, but highly effective, force is always held in reserve, however, including a squad of pilots for the external defense of Black Sun headquarters. When 'on duty' at Black Sun headquarters or secure facilities, members wear unmarked black, dark brown, or dark blue uniforms. Although there is a ranking system, no insignia nor other visible designations are used as each Expatra assigned to a location is expected to recognize other Expatra on sight, avoiding the ability of outside forces to infiltrate their numbers, which also means knowing others' ranks. Operating outside the standard membership system, an Expatra is at the same time subordinate to higher-ranking Black Sun members and beyond their control. Depending on many factors, from duty assignment to location of operation through who is in charge of any given mission they might be on and what the scope of their duties and that of their current leader might be, the resident Expatra might be freely ordered about by any non-Expatra member, or the dark-uniformed group might be the ones telling others what to do. Expatra can be used as a weapon against Black Sun members, and frequently are. ---- :: You do not find Black Sun — Black Sun finds you; but they are again a force in the galaxy. Category:Organizations Category:Underworld